Vladimir Putin began a series of “pre-election” meetings with regional heads

Last week, President Vladimir Putin opened a series of traditional meetings with governors who want to take part in the September elections. The leaders of Sakhalin and Transbaikalia, Valery Limarenko and Alexander Osipov, were the first to receive the support of the head of state. According to Kommersant, similar meetings will be held in the near future with the heads of Bashkiria and Kalmykia Radiy Khabirov and Batu Khasikov, as well as the governors of a number of regions.

Vladimir Putin held the first “pre-election” meeting this year with the governor of the Sakhalin region Valery Limarenko. On April 3, the head of the island entity reported to the president via video link on the socio-economic development of the region, expressed hope for the imminent appearance of a bridge to the mainland, and at the same time asked for support for his desire to remain for a second term. “I would like to ask for your blessing to run for governor this year in September. It’s your decision,” said Mr. Limarenko. In response, Mr. Putin stated that “in general” the current governor “is doing well,” but “there is still a lot that needs to be done.” “I am sure that you know what and how to do,” the head of state admonished him.

On the same day, the President spoke via videoconferencing with the Governor of the Trans-Baikal Territory, Alexander Osipov. He reported on a decrease in unemployment and proposed paying Transbaikal residents 1 million rubles. for a third child, and at the same time asked Vladimir Putin “a very delicate question.” “People and social activists ask me: this year there are elections for the governor of the Trans-Baikal Territory, so, how are you? And of course, I would like to do more good deeds, to support everyone in good deeds as much as possible,” admitted Mr. Osipov. In response, the head of state stated that in Transbaikalia, despite the accumulated problems, there is a “movement.” “I think everything will work out for you,” the president concluded.

Let us remember that in the spring Vladimir Putin traditionally meets with governors whose powers expire this coming fall, since the election campaign starts in early summer. Political scientists have always interpreted such conversations as a public signal of support for leaders’ participation in elections, but now there is no need for expert interpretation: recently, regional heads have directly asked the president for his “blessing” to be re-elected. He usually responds by pointing out issues that require additional attention and stipulating that voters have the final say.

According to Kommersant’s information, in the near future the heads of Bashkiria and Kalmykia Radiy Khabirov and Batu Khasikov will receive a “pre-election” audience with Vladimir Putin. In addition, Kommersant sources close to regional administrations claim that the governors of the Astrakhan, Volgograd, Kursk and Lipetsk regions Igor Babushkin, Andrey Bocharov, Roman Starovoyt and Igor Artamonov may meet with the president during April-May. The latter confirmed to Kommersant that he wants to remain head of the region for a second term: “Wonderful people live here. We have come a long way together, but there are still many projects now and in the future.” According to Mr. Artamonov, he will take part in the primaries of United Russia and nominate his candidacy for elections if he is given confidence “at all levels.”

In addition to the listed governors, the powers of Vadim Shumkov (Kurgan region), Andrey Chibis (Murmansk region), Denis Pasler (Orenburg region), Alexey Teksler (Chelyabinsk region), Oleg Khorokhordin (Altai Republic), Alexander Beglov (St. Petersburg) and Vladimir Vladimirov (Stavropol Territory). Some of them have previously stated their desire to run for elections again: for example, Mr. Texler did this at the end of 2022, Mr. Chibis – at the end of 2023. But Mr. Pasler, on the contrary, allegedly does not want to remain in office: in November, Vedomosti wrote that he could leave the region after the presidential elections.

Kommersant’s sources close to the authorities of these regions cannot yet say unambiguously whether the issue of the participation of their leaders in the September elections has been resolved. For example, Kommersant’s interlocutors in the Stavropol Territory see no reason for the rotation of Vladimir Vladimirov, but they do not undertake to claim that he has already received the go-ahead for a third term. It is not entirely clear whether Alexander Beglov will also run for a second term, although Kommersant’s sources in the St. Petersburg branch of United Russia spoke back in January about the informal start of the work of his election headquarters. Press secretary of the Altai head Mikhail Maksimov called the question of Oleg Khorokhordin’s participation in the elections premature: “Right now the priority is important current work.”

In the fall, the powers of three more heads will expire: Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov, Sergei Aksenov and Kazbek Kokov, who govern Ingushetia, Crimea and Kabardino-Balkaria, respectively. In these republics, the highest official is elected not by residents, but by deputies of the legislative assembly from candidates submitted to parliament by the president. He, in turn, selects applicants from among those proposed by the parties. Since the procedure for such nomination occurs at the end of summer, the issue of prolonging the powers of current leaders usually arises later. Nevertheless, Kommersant sources close to the leadership of Crimea are already saying that there is no need to expect a change in the head of the peninsula, since the region is of strategic importance from the point of view of conducting special operations and integrating new entities, and Mr. Aksenov is coping with the tasks facing him. By the way, he himself told TASS in March that he was ready to continue working if he received support from the president.

Let us add that after the start of the SVO, the Kremlin’s policy towards the governor’s corps has a pronounced conservative character: of the ten heads who resigned after February 2022, only the head of the Smolensk region Alexey Ostrovsky did so truly ahead of schedule – halfway through his term. All the rest, including the head of the Vologda region Oleg Kuvshinnikov, who in November last year gave up his post to Georgy Filimonov, the only acting governor at the moment, were close to completing their tenure, that is, the question of their rotation arose naturally. However, this spring we cannot rule out a change of governors, whose powers are far from complete, since some regional leaders may be promoted after the approval of the new government, says political consultant Evgeniy Minchenko: “This will directly depend on how closely the composition of the government will be rotated.”

Andrey Prah, corset “Kommersant”